Warcraft: The Beginning
Starring: Travis Fimmel, Paula Patton, Ben Foster
Directed By: Duncan Jones
Written By: Duncan Jones, Charles Leavitt, Chris Metzen
Reviewed by Brendan Dousi

[rating: 2/5]

From the very first trailer of Warcraft: The Beginning, I felt a bit confused about this film. Who was it for? It was bright and bombastic but failed to show any inkling of a strong story to draw audiences in. Was it for the Lord of the Rings crowd? The nerd crowd? Is it’s overly cartoonish look supposed to appeal to children? Was the over-reliance on action supposed to draw in the blockbuster crowd? Or was this purely for the fans? Perhaps they were hoping the millions-strong player-base for their video games would translate into ticket sales. Now, after seeing the film, I know the answer. Yes. All of the above.

Warcraft came out in a few other territories before it got here to Australia and has received quite the critical blasting from all sides. I even saw an article likening it to this generation’s Battlefield: Earth. This was a little melodramatic. Rest assured, it’s not that bad. This said, it’s not particularly great either. The story they’re trying to tell here is uninspired and flimsy. I know it’s based off of existing lore from the video games, I’ve even played some of them so was quite familiar with the world coming into it. But, boy, did they choose the wrong story to tell. The film is so focused on telling us this big, epic battle between Orcs and Humans, about inter-dimensional warfare and mysterious, evil green magic that it absolutely forgets to give us anything to care about.  Next to no effort is put into developing any of these characters that it’s hard to summon up the ability to care what’s going on. This world is so bright and different from anything we’ve seen in cinema before, it’s been slapped right from a video game onto the screen and is so over the top it’s kind of wonderful but it has nothing to ground it. It has no characters to sell this world to us. So, in the end, it’s just kind of one bright, bombastic mess of CGI playing out on the screen and there’s not much for the average cinema-goer to hold onto.

The people who will get the most out of this film are the fans of the Video Game series. Those who have played the games, read the lore and completely immersed themselves in this world already. I have to admit, it’s kind of great seeing this world so accurately portrayed on screen. All of those locations you’ve been to already are now realised in front of you. You get enjoyment when you spot something you recognise and that nostalgia bliss sets in. Unfortunately the rest of the audience doesn’t get that. They are thrust into this weird world with nothing to latch onto and based off of the story alone, I can’t see many people getting much out of this.

The closest thing to something relatable in this film are actually the Orcs. Toby Kebbell gives a fantastic mo-cap performance as the rebel Orc war-chief Durotan as he struggles with betraying his own kind for the greater good.  Anna Galvin as his wife Draka does  a fantastic job as well, in a way representing the only emotional spark this film has as she cares for their newborn son. On the human side, however, it’s a different story. Travis Fimmel as Anduin Lothar plays possibly the most generic Mary-Sue-Action-Man you’ve ever seen on film, complete with a ticking-death-clock family member ready to give him motivation. Ben Foster as Medivh, some ancient guardian Wizard guy, is supremely miscast. I usually love Ben Foster, but as a wise old wizard he kind of leaves a lot to be desired. The only real moment of levity comes with Ben Schnetzer as Khadgar and Paula Patton as Garona who are given brief moments of humanity and character before the film quickly sweeps that aside to return to spelling out the inane lore it thinks is more important.

This film does have entertainment value in its spectacle and there’s definitely something here for fans of the series. But, I’m really straining to see what anyone who isn’t familiar with this property will get out of this film besides watching some bright colours smash up against each other for two hours.  Ultimately, Warcraft: The Beginning is little more than a hot mess.